Windows 10 S demotion
The lightweight OS has been folded into full-fat Windows 10
MICROSOFT HAS DITCHED
the standalone Windows 10 S operating system and plans to make it a “mode” within Windows 10, marking yet another confusing change to the company’s fleet of operating systems.
Windows 10 S was launched as a stripped-down version of Windows for its Surface devices. It disabled features such as the command line and PowerShell, and restricted users to installing apps from the Windows Store to make the OS more watertight.
Windows 10 S was eventually preinstalled on many other devices, too, and users could switch to the full Pro version of Windows by paying $50 to unlock their devices.
Microsoft claimed that Windows 10 S was popular with consumers because it offered improved “security, faster boot time, better battery life and consistent performance over time”.
It will now be available to anyone, regardless of whether they are on Home, Pro or Enterprise versions of Windows 10. “With the next update to Windows 10, customers can choose to buy a new Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro PC with S mode enabled, and commercial customers will be able to deploy Windows 10 Enterprise with S mode enabled,” said Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Windows.
Belfiore said he expected manufacturers to offer hardware with the S mode enabled by default alongside devices using a standard Windows installation, but with the possibility of switching to S mode.
Analysts say the decision will boil down to what applications consumers and businesses rely on. “The whole point of having an OS is to provide an interface between the hardware and the applications that people really use – or need to use,” said Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft. “So, while there may be some users who switch to S mode for performance or reliability, there will be an equal number who switch away from S mode because there is not an application in the Windows Store,” said Cherry. “The basic trade-off with S mode may be performance and reliability versus ability to run older legacy apps.” But the episode has done little to clear the muddy waters caused by the company’s seemingly endless versions and branding changes. “My original understanding of ‘Windows as a Service’ and Windows 10 was it was intended to get more people on fewer versions of Windows to make support (by Microsoft and others) more efficient,” said Cherry. “So, instead of having people on Vista, 7, 8, and 10, everyone would be on Windows 10. However, while more people are on Windows 10, now there are still as many, if not more, versions currently in support.”